Naira firms to N157.25 on offshore investors’ dollar flow

The Naira firmed against the US dollar on the interbank market on Wednesday, supported by dollar inflow from offshore investors buying local debt and waning demand for hard currency, traders said.
Naira strengthened to N157.25 to the dollar, firmer than the N157.39 it closed at on the previous day.
Traders said dollar flows from foreign investors taking positions in the local debt market and sales by some oil companies earlier in the week buoyed dollar liquidity.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) plans to issue N171.83 billion ($1.09 billion) in treasury bills ranging from 3-month to 1-year maturities at its regular bi-monthly debt auction on October 11.
On the bi-weekly auction, the CBN sold $120 million at N155.75, compared with $104.8 million sold at the same price on Monday.
“We expect the naira to strengthen further in the coming days as the market awaits the second tranche of NNPC dollar sale,” one dealer said.
The NNPC sold about $250 million to some lenders last week, boosting the local currency to its strongest in five weeks.
The firm supplies the bulk of dollar traded on the interbank market.